the SHAW Blog

Are you stressed in this very moment? Probably so stressed that you have turned off the world?You scrolling the web probably not even paying attention to what is on the screen? Unread emails, work meetings and parent teacher conferences? I understand it is a busy life you have and times are hard. You have to remember your sanity and maintain control of your stress. Stress can kill you. So before that happens, try one of these five ways to try and help relieve your stress:

Stress will happen. It is inevitable. Learning healthy ways to deal with it is obligatory. At SHAW Center for Healing, we help clients every day cope with stressors in their lives. Let our experts help you find peace. To read full article, click here.

Many parents stay constantly busy. There seems to always be a sporting event, practice or maybe a recital. Let’s face it, your children’s lives become the main focus and that is what keeps you busy and social. You become the all-star parent that is always present. We usually don't think about what will happen when all the babies leave the nest and head off in the world to create their own lives. In this article, “Rituals for Transcending Loneliness,” the author states that loneliness can occur when your children leave the nest. She suggest three beneficial things you can do to insure loneliness doesn't take over your new normal:

​ 1. Get out. 2. Build a safety net. 3. Reframe your time alone. If you find yourself stuck in a state of loneliness and you've tried these three suggestions, feel free to contact us at SHAW Center for Healing. We understand the transition from a full nest to an empty one and we’d love to be there for you and help with this transition as much as possible. To read the full article, click here.

Do you have a bad habit that has horrible health risk? I know that one cigarette keeps you from killing a coworker.. or the list goes on. You really have to weigh out the pros and cons of that one cigarette that you desperately need daily to survive. Is it really helping you survive? What isit doing to your appearance, but most importantly your health. Your breath, your pearly whites, the brain, or your heart? Here are some common facts from recent studies that may change your mind about that one cigarette a day:

Those who have one cigarette a day are 70% more likely to develop coronary heart disease than nonsmokers.

20 cigs a day puts yourself at twice the risk of a stroke than nonsmokers.

The chemicals in cigarette smoke can damage the structure and function of your blood vessels.

So, after hearing just those three facts I’m sure you are ready to put this bad habit of yours to rest. If you still feel the need to keep up the habit maybe you should try and work on the issues causing you to need to keep this habit alive. Come in and let our experts at the SHAW Center for Healing guide you through the process. To read full article, click here.

Are you a person that hates to be alone? In todays time social media has really taken over many peoples lives. You would think that having so many connections on social media you would never have to deal with being alone. Social media has really just changed the way people connect and it is not as ideal as you would think. It is important to remember quality over quantity, always.In order to really get to know someone and create long lasting relationships you really need to get out there and get connected on an emotional level, something that requires physical contact. A connection that can’t take place through a phone screen. In a recent study elderly people have been more likely to have unnecessary hospital visits just to keep from feeling alone. The visit to the hospital was giving them the physical and emotional contact they were needing to feel loved and acknowledged. It is important to make the choice to be alone. If you find yourself struggling with being alone and need someone to talk to contact us at the SHAW Center for Healing. Our experts would love to work with you. To read full article, click here.

Most everyone could benefit from simple ways to stay happy in their hectic lives. Recently Harvard Medical School researchers have found that simple writing activities can help with maintaining happiness. The research was based off of recipients in recovery, but anyone could benefit from these common activities. So, here are the three writing exercises that could increase your in-the-moment-happiness:

1. Reliving Happy Moments 2. Savoring 3. Rose, Thorn, Bud

The writing assignments are simple and the results have shown a huge impact on a recipient’s happiness. For the reliving happy moments you are to simply select a photo from a past happy moment and write about it. How hard is that? Something so simple changing your mood instantly. Savoring would just be reflecting on a happy moment from the previous day; and rose, thorn, bud would be an obstacle and then something positive.

If you are struggling with maintaining your happiness and making it “one day at a time” then we strongly suggest the use of these simple writing exercises. Let our experts at the Shaw Center for Healing guide you along your recovery journey. To read the full article, click here.

Are you dealing with a partner that always has to be right? If so, breathe. It can be an irritable task at times, but with the right negotiating skills you can make it through any tough conversation with your partner. The most common hot topics may vary between sex, money, and children, to list a few. It is common to find different types of controlling partners: some may choose certain areas to control while others exert pervasive control. When dealing with someone that finds it is hard to acknowledge that they are not always right, you may find these 8 suggestions to be helpful:

Express empathy.

Provide evidence.

Use your credibility.

Control your emotions.

Pick your battles.

Be objective.

Focus on the positive.

Increase insight.

In any difficult conversation, it is necessary to stay calm at all times. See your partner out, and try to work towards common ground. Need help? Our therapists at SHAW Center for Healing are experts in helping individuals, couples, and families communicate more effectively. Schedule a session today to learn more. To read full article, click here.

Are you a person that can easily connect with most anyone? Or are you challenged when it comes to connecting? Our approach is very important. Taking in our thoughts about situations and how we relay our messages can determine how successful a connection can be between another person. It is important to be present while trying to connect emotionally with another person. Put away the phone, keep eye contact and remember to breathe. When we forget to breathe we can quickly find ourselves in a state of reactivity. Sherianna Boyle suggests 5 ways to foster tolerance through emotional connection:

Check in with yourself.

Put your phone out of reach.

Soften your gaze.

Be open to all possibilities.

Release judgments.

We usually find it much easier to connect emotionally when we find ourselves feeling safe. Keep confident during all situations and try to stay non-defensive. This will help the connection be more easily found on an emotional level and the person will better understand the place you are coming from.

Be more present and continue to work on creating these emotional connections, and the relationships that you have will flourish. If you find yourself struggling, let our experts at SHAW Center for Healing guide you. To read the full article, click here.

Have you ever thought about how meaningless the world would be without communication? Communicating is a common activity used constantly in everyday life. Even though communication is key to our lives, jobs, and relationships there is never an explicit training in this area. Oren Jay Sofer states five practices that could better your communication skills,

Lead with presence.

Listen completely.

Come from curiosity and care.

Focus on what matters.

Pause; remember the option to stay silent.

​Oren says that poor communication is one of the primary results of divorce and states that possibly 85% of job success comes from having strong skills like communication and relationship building. So without a doubt the way you communicate will determine how successful you are in your life.

Need help strengthening your communicating skills that are holding you back from a successful life? Let our experts at SHAW Center for Healing guide you. To read the full article, click here.

Do you wish to better yourself daily and become an inspirational person? No one wants to surround themselves with people who lack good characteristics. Good character traits can lead you to be an outstanding person. In a recent article entitled, “8 Traits of Outstanding People,” author Sherrie Campbell states that there are eight traits that a outstanding person embodies:

Purpose

Passion

Perseverance

Choice

Commitment

Failure

Support

Optimism

Anyone can change and become an outstanding person, but it takes action. A person should find a purpose and with that purpose you will do great things with a lot of passion. Feeling lost and without purpose can sometimes lead to darkness. You should always surround yourself with those that feel like sunlight. Life can be difficult, but the outstanding person will persevere and never allow setbacks to change their outlook. An outstanding person has a goal and realizes it takes hard work and sometimes failure to get there. These 8 traits are like a chain effect. You need all of them in order to succeed in becoming that amazing person everyone inspires to be. It is simply a choice and anyone can do it. With optimism and the support of family and friends, an outstanding person is a very accessible human to become.​Do you struggle believing in yourself? Let one of our SHAWeome experts help you overcome your challenges allowing you to be the outstanding person that you are.

We all have bad habits, right? Sometimes our bad habits can lead to failure, but once we break away from our self-destructive behavior we will be more subjected to success. In a recent article, author Deep Patel suggest 15 ways to master your bad habits.

Patel suggest that a morning routine would be the key to success. Have an earlier morning and prepare for your day, in return it will lead to greater success. Another suggestion could be to use a diary. Sometimes we make irrational or impulse decisions, so a diary could be helpful and help to reflect over a stressful or extremely eventful day.

Scenery could possibly play a huge role in your mood or your outlook on your future. A change of scenery could be a positive influence on your habits and through these travels you could be more open to different ideas and possibilities. A change in scenery could lead to a brand new perspective. Although, bad habits could be occurring in our daily lives we may not be realizing it. Sometimes it would be a good idea to do some self reflecting to insure our habits are beneficial and helping us rather than enabling us to reach our goals.

Communication is a huge part of everyones daily lives, so healthy communicating skills could be a very useful habit that would insure a success story. Lack of communication can be detrimental in many cases. Just be sure to be expressing yourself in a manor that is receivable. Be sure to think of others and not to be selfish. Be open to feedback from those around you to insure that the habits you are expressing in your daily life are helping you to gain the success you want.

Patel also suggest that you meditate and forgive yourself when falling off in habits that could lead to self-destructive ways. It is important to forgive, so that the self-loathing does not lead to other bad habits. Make sure when making decisions that you are careful of the influence you are surrounded by. You should steer clear of those that try to influence bad habits or behavior, also those that trigger you. Patel also states you should be mindful of technology and to be sure you are not distracted by it. Most importantly take time for yourself and meditate. Bad habits will come and go, but they are all choices. Patel said it best, “Habits are powerful, for good or ill.”

Need help breaking some of the bad habits that are running your life? Let our experts at SHAW Center for Healing guide you. To read the full article, click here.